Press releases 2001

Geneva, 14 December 2001. The CERN1 Council, where the representatives of the 20 Member States of the Organization decide on scientific programmes and financial resources, held its 120th session on 14 December under the chairmanship of Prof. Maurice Bourquin (CH).

Geneva, 9 October 2001. Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? Are we alone? These questions have always fascinated humanity and for more than 30 years, physicists, biologists, chemists, cosmologists and astronomers have worked tirelessly to answer these questions. And now this November via webcast, all the world will have the opportunity to see the latest on extraterrestrial life from the most prestigious research centers and how for the past three months, European students have had the chance to jump into the scientists' shoes and explore these questions for themselves.

Geneva, 2 October 2001. It was all systems go for CERN1's forthcoming particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), last week when a chain of prototype magnets was successfully operated for the first time at the full magnetic field needed to achieve the high energy of the LHC's particle beams. Known as String 2, the chain consists five superconducting magnets along with all the necessary cooling, powering, and safety systems. Its successful operation is a clear indication that the Laboratory is firmly on course to meet the LHC's exacting technical requirements.

CERN1, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, in Geneva, Switzerland announced today the creation of the CERN openlab for DataGrid applications. Three leading Information Technology firms: Enterasys Networks, Intel and KPNQwest have joined CERN to push forward this groundbreaking project in advanced distributed computing. Each company will invest 2.5 MCHF ($1.5M) over a period of 3 years to help CERN achieve its ambitious objectives.

Geneva, 20 September 2001. The first phase of the LHC Computing Grid project was approved at an extraordinary meeting of the CERN1 Council on 20 September 2001. CERN is preparing for the unprecedented avalanche of data that will be produced by the multinational experiments at its new particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful device of its kind ever built.